Unloader for tumbler type washing machines



H. SOLOMON Aug. 15', 1950v 2,518,729

' UNLOADER FOR 'TUMBLER TYPE WASHING MACHINES I Filed Nov. 26. 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR B Mam. ATTORNEY Harv 50km on Aug. 15', 1950 H. SOLOMON UNLOADER FOR TUMBLER TYPE WASHING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 26. 1945 Han-g 3o lemon llllll llll I ll lll llll llllll llllllll ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 15, 1950 UNLOAD'ER FOR TUMBLER TYPE WASHING MACHINES Harry Solomon, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor of onehalf to Abraham S. Geisinger, Bronx, N. Y.

Application November 26, 1945, Serial No. 630,765

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to washing machines, and more particularly to new and useful improvements in an unloading device for removing wash from a-machine that has a rotatable drum within an outer casing.

An object of theinvention is to provide an unloading device that can be installed in power Washing machines with few structural changes.

A further object is to provide a light metal semirigid unloading. device capable of supporting heavy loads.

Still another object is to provide an unloading device with automatic locking means and with self-retaining parts to grip the washing machine drum.

Another object is to form the device without protruding parts that can cause damage to the laundry.

A further object is to provide an unloading device that can be operated quickly and easily without requiring the operator to enter the drum to position and secure the unloader.

Still another object is to form the device of a series of panels shaped to conform to and grip the drum and its ribs without the use of lips or projections on the device or coactingholes or indentures in the ribs.

These and other objects are accomplished by providing an unloading device comprised of a series of panels, cables and locking means, the panels having cable holes, each panel in the series being rotatably joined to its adjacent panel, one end panel being rotatably secured to the drum and the other end panel being releasably fastened to the drum by the locking means, and the cables extending through the cable holes and weaving in and out of the panels, one end of the cable being anchored to the drum and the other end being provided withmeans to secure it to a hoist;

Further and more specific details and objects of this invention will appear, be described and shown in the accompanying drawing in which;

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through the center of a power washing machine showing the unloading device incorporating the invention herein, the device being fully secured with a Washing machine drum.

Fig. 2 is a section along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the unloading device with the cylinder and drum doors being aligned and opened, and the device with its wash being removed by a hoist shown diagrammatically.

Fig. 4 is a side longitudinal view of the washing machine with the cylinder in section, one

2 drum toward the left of the machine in elevation, and the other drum in vertical section.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a detail showing a passageway in the machine with the locking and holding means.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail of part of the drum, unloader and a bracket, the view being taken sectionally along the line 2-2,

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary detail of an angle iron, the view being similar to that of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view 'of the detail shown in Fig. '7, but, in addition, shows the unloader positioned resting on the angle iron.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the drum section adjacent and opposite the longitudinal way or trough of the unloader.

Fig. 10 is a detail of part of the unloader.

In the drawings and in the specification, in which like reference numbers designate similar parts, a power washing machine I0 is provided with a cylinder I I having a side wall I2, a door I3 in the side wall and end walls I4, (only one being shown). The cylinder II incloses a plurality of reversibly rotatable pockets or drums I5 carried by shafts I6 rotating in bearings I I.

Each of the rotatable drums I5 is formed with two end walls I8, a side wall I9 extending between and secured to the end walls, an opening or doorway 20 in the side wall, a door 2I closing the opening, a half rib 22, a plurality of ribs 23 and two angle irons 24. The rotatable drums are provided with holes 25 to permit water and other cleansing fluids to pass freely between them and the cylinder I I.

The half rib 22 and the ribs 23 extend longitudinally in the drum resting against its side wall I9, the half rib being positioned adjacent the door 2|, the angle irons 24 being positioned on the side wall approximately opposite the half rib and near the end Walls I8, and the ribs 23 being spaced apart evenly .between the half rib and the angle irons on one side of the drum side Wall. 7

The half rib 22 is formed with a straight side 26, a sloping side 21 and a top face 25, and each of the ribs 23 is formed with sides 29 which slope toward each other as they extend toward the top face 30 of the rib.

A wet wash puller unloading device 3| is rotattermediate panels 34 and a free end panel 35 positioned nearest the angle irons, each panel being rotatably joined to its adjacent panel by a hinge 36. The wet wash extracting unit 3| is provided with cable elements 3! and locking means 38, and can be withdrawn partially from within the drum through its doorway 20. v

Each of the panels'r'it, 34 and 35 has a strong reinforcing transverse flange 39 at each end extending the entire transverse length of the panel.

following its configuration.

The end panel 33 and the intermediate panels 34 are each shaped into a trough-like figure having a transversely arcuate section (it with slope ing side sections 4! terminating inv flat longitudinal flanged sections :32. Each of the panels thus shaped fits between a pair of adj'acentdrum' ribs with the side sections and flanged sections resting against the tops, and sloping sides of the ribs and the arcuate section resting near the portion of the drum between ribs.

The free end panel 35 is shaped with a flat longitudinal section 43 positioned adjacent to the last of the intermediate panels, a trough-Elke figure similar to the ones heretofore described and having a transversely arcuate section it with sloping side sections 55' and A5, a second longitudinal section t? wider than the first and adjoining the trough, and an outwardly extending flange 58, the flange 48, the second longitudinal section 4'? and the sloping side 46 forming a longitudinal way it with its open side facing the drum wall in contrast to the troughs whose open sides face toward the center of the drum. The free end panel is positioned with its arcuate section 44 resting near the drumportion between ribs, its sloping section 5.5 and its fiat section :33 resting respectively against the side and top of a rib, and its sloping side 46 and flange 48 resting against the angle irons near the end walls [8.

Each of the angle irons 24 is positioned with a free leg at extending across the way it with one edge 5! resting against the sloping side it and the opposite edge 52 resting against the flange '28, thus retaining the unloading unit in position when the drum is being rotated reversibly.

A resilient soft'rubber-sponge gasket 53 extends along the free end of the flange 43 forming a seal between the-free end panel and thedrum to prevent wash from getting behind the extracting unit 3|.

The cable elements 3? are comprised of two resilient cables 54, strong enough to carry the extracting unit and wet wash, each cable being anchored at one end to the half ribs 22 by bolts 5 55, and having an eye bolt 55 at its other free end. The cables are positioned near the transverse rein rcing flanges 39 and pass through cable holes in the end panel 33 and intermediate panels 3 3 weaving in and out of them as follows: At arcuate sections the cables are positioned between said panels and" the adjacent drum side wall, at other portions of the panels,-

the cables are positioned on the side of said'panels toward the center of the drums, the cable holes 5? extending through the arcuate sections at their junction with the sloping sides. 1

At the free end panel 35, each cable is positioned between its arcuate section as and the adjacent drum side wall and extends-across the of a pair of brackets 59 each having legs Ga -and- 6| normal to each other and a pair of angle plates 62 each having arms 63 and 64 normal to each other. The legs 69 of the brackets are bolted to the drum and the legs GI extend into the way and are provided with slots 65 normal to the legs 60. The arms 63 of the plates are adjustably secured to the legs 6| by holding elements 66 extending through the slots 55, and the arms 64 extend in the way toward each other and are provided with bevelled end faces 61.

The elements on the way of the panel consist ofa stop 6.8 having aispring seat 59 at each end, a'pair each of springs Iii, tongues ll, spacers l2 and straps 13. The stop 68 is positioned in and bolted to the way.v Each tongue rests on a spacer with its rear end M bearing against a spring 10 and with its forward end it angled opposite to the end. face 6? of an arm 64 so that the tongue end 15 and face 6! of thearm 64 can contact each other and then the tongue slides 'past the arm and lock the unloader. The spacers extend underthe rear end of the tongues and hold the tongues raised above the element d! providing room for the arms 54' to rest between the element 4? and the tongue forward ends and so lock the unloader extended into the drum and into opposite ends of the holes in the handles to force the handles to ward each other, thus releasing the tongues from the arms in the drum and freeing the unloader unit.

The drum with its unloader is operated by first positioning the unloader inside the drum withthe corresponding coacting elements of the drum and unloader in contact and functioning together to retain them in their relative positions; second,

conducting a normal washing operation; and third, removing the wash, after letting out the water, by positioning the drum so that the doors of the drum and cylinder are adjacent, opening the doors, inserting the forked tool of a hoist (not shown) into the eyes of the eyebolts- 5t and operating the hoist.

As the unloader is lifted upward by and pulled forward by the hoist, the wash is rolled over and over until it and most of the panels of the unloader are outside the drum. When allthe wash has been removed, the hoist action is reversed and the unloader is shoved back into the drum. As it drops, the unloader swings backward about the half rib and finally comes to rest against the drum side walls and its ribs, the tongues sliding past the arm ends and locking the unit in position, ready for the next washing.

It should be noted'that while the unloader is in position in the drum, the weight or the wash is transferred directly by the unloader parts to their adjacent drum parts so that the unloader must be strong only in respect to the unloading operation. In unloading the strong flanges at the ends of the unloader together with the cables, support the light sheet metal panels and bear the full weight of the wash and eventually the total load is transferred to the cables and hall rib,

In addition, it should be noted that in whatever position the drum comes to rest, the ribs of the drum and the free legs 50 of the angle irons 24 rest respectively against the sloping side sections 4| of the intermediate panels and the sides of the Way, preventing the unloader from slipping on the drum. The locking means only serves to retain the end of the free panel from falling when the unloader is in a semi-inverted position. In

an inverted position, the angle irons 24 act as an abutment to the end of an arch so that the unloader retains itself in its proper position.

As the details describe and the drawing shows only one form of this invention and since many changes and modifications may be made in the same invention without changing or departing from the spirit and scope of the basic idea, I desire to cover all modifications, forms and embodiments coming within the language of any one or more of the appended claims. 7

I claim:

1. In a machine having a rotatable drum, an unloading device therein to remove contents from the drum comprising a series of panels and a cable disposed through them in an over and under manner with the cable being under the panels intermediate their longitudinal edges and over the panels at their longitudinal edges, each panel being rotatably joined to its adjacent panel whereby a retracting force applied to the cable can collapse the panels without damage to the panel edges.

2. In a machine having a rotatable drum, an unloading device, to remove contents from the drum, comprising a series of longitudinally adjacent panels within the drum' and a cable, the panels having cable holes, and each panel in the series being rotatably joined to its adjacent panel, and the cable extending through the cable holes and being positioned partly over and partly under the panels with the cable being under the panels intermediate their longitudinal edges and over the panels where they are rotatably joined together, whereby a retracting force can be applied to a cable end to cause the panels to fold together without their edges being crushed by the cable.

3. For use in a machine having a rotatable drum, .an unloading device comprising a series of panels and. a cable, the panels having cable holes, each panel in the series being rotatably joined to its adjacent panel, and an end panel having hinging means for being rotatably secured to the drum with which the device may be used, and the cable extending through the cable holes and being positioned partly over and partly under the panels, one end of the cable being anchored in the vicinity of the panel having the drum hinging means, whereby a retracting force can be applied to the other cable end to cause the panels to fold together without their edges being crushed by the cable.

4. For use in a washing machine having a r0- tatable drum with longitudinal ribs therein, an unloading device to remove wash from the drum comprising a series of panels and a cable, the panels having cable holes and being formed with arcuate sections and flanged sections, the arcuate sections being adapted to rest between the ribsv of the drum in which the device may be used, and the flanged sections being adapted to fit about and rest against the drum ribs, each panel in the series being rotatably joined to its adjacent panel, one of the end panels having hinging means capable of being secured to the drum, and the other of the end panels having locking means capable of being releasably held to the drum and the cable extending through the cable holes and being positioned partly over and partly under the panels, one end of the cable having anchoring means in the vicinity of the panel capable of being secured to the drum and the other end of the cable beyond the panel terminating in a grasping means, whereby the cable can be grasped and operated to collapse and remove the device from the drum with which it may be used.

5. In a machine having a rotatable drum, an unloading device within the drum to remove contents therefrom comprising a series of panels and a locking means, the panels resting against the drum and hinged together, and one end panel of said panels hinged to the drum and the other end panel having a way adjacent the drum, and the locking means having slidable tongue elements positioned on the way and gripping elements coacting therewith secured on the drum and the tongue elements on the way having sections extending through their panel with grasping means therebeyond capable of being held and motivated to retract the tongue from its locked position and to free the panel.

6. An emptying device, for use with a rotatable drum washing machine, comprising a series of panels'and a cable, the series of panels being hinged together along adjacent longitudinal edges and one end panel having a locking means for securing the device to a drum and the other end panel having a hinged retaining means for being rotatably secured to the drum, the cable extending in an over and under manner laterally about the panels with the cable being over the panels at their hinges and under the panels intermediate their hinges, whereby when the end of the cable in the vicinity of the panel having the hinged retaining means is secured from movement the other end of the cable can be motiva'ted to collapse and remove the device from the drum in which it may be operating.

7. For use in a washing machine having a rotatable drum, an unloading device comprising a series of panels and a locking means, the panels being rotatably hinged together and capable of being positioned within and resting against the drum with which the device may be used, one end panel of said panels having means to permit the device to be rotatably secured to the drum and the other end panel having a way extending 1ongitudinally along its outer face and the locking ineans being positioned in the way and secured partly to the panel containing the way and being capable of releasably retaining the device to the drum.

HARRY SOLOMON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

